Chapter 475 The Sixteenth Prince Forces the Emperor to Abdicate!
After Shen Lanxi left, the people in the mansion dared to come out and move around.
"Madam, it's not a matter of confiscating our property, it's that the sixteenth prince in the palace has rebelled!"
The news quickly spread throughout the various prefectures, and then from the mouths of the relevant generals throughout the capital.
"The sixteenth prince is only eleven years old! Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
"What do you know? The sixteenth prince's mother is a descendant of General Wang Ling, who followed His Majesty back then. Even if none of the general's descendants practiced martial arts, they must have left Wang with ways to protect herself."
“The Wang family has always followed His Majesty, and I’m afraid they’ve long coveted the throne and harbored rebellious intentions.”
"Quickly go and find out if Shen Lanxi is in the palace?"
Soon, the news spread throughout the various residences that Shen Lanxi had gone home today due to some business.
"The palace must be in complete chaos right now!"
"The Wang family has always kept a low profile over the years, and they've probably been waiting for this moment."
"This is bad. It seems that the Wang family is trying to coerce the emperor into ordering the feudal lords. She wants to seize the imperial seal and issue a false edict."
"Quickly, gather all the guards in the house. Once Wang gets the forged edict, the executioner's blade will be turned against us."
If they then use their families to threaten them into accepting the forged edict, the country will truly change hands.
Those with foresight had just gathered the guards and soldiers of their homes when the rumble of iron cavalry sounded outside.
Who is it?
Whose troops were they at this time?
Could it be the Wang family?
The officials' hearts sank to the bottom. Indeed, at this time, apart from the Wang family who were hiding their strength, all the other troops had been sent out.
Even if Shen Lanxi could fight against a hundred men, she wouldn't be able to turn the tide at this point.
The capital is about to change hands; one can only hope that the shift in power will be less bloody. The Great Zhou Dynasty is already teetering on the brink of collapse and cannot withstand any more internal strife.
Before long, it was daytime.
Officials in the court and ordinary people in the capital all boldly opened their doors to investigate the situation.
Why are the streets so empty?
"There's no blood on the ground. In the current situation, it's unlikely anyone will come to clean up the bloodstains."
Therefore, no fighting occurred on the streets at night.
Seeing this, the officials and the people felt much better and became bolder.
"There seems to be some movement in the direction of the palace!"
“I heard it too.”
The common people may not go, but the officials cannot, especially the top officials. If they don't go, they will be accused of being cowards when old grievances are brought up later.
After hesitating for a moment, many officials made arrangements for their families and headed towards the palace.
The three regents met on their way to the palace.
Each of the three had their own thoughts, but the old Grand Tutor said, "Let's go together!"
They successfully diffused the awkwardness between them.
When they arrived, the palace gates were already surrounded by cavalry, and the corpses of more than a dozen children were hanging on the city gates.
The three regents' hearts sank to the bottom after just one glance.
The princes hanging by their necks from the city gate were still minors in the harem, and the ground was littered with the corpses of many concubines, princes, and princesses.
When they arrived, Shen Lanxi was angrily negotiating with the people on the city wall.
"Do not harm His Majesty and the princes. I hereby grant you a fiefdom to govern yourselves!"
This was an honor that even two traitors who sent people to threaten them couldn't take away, which shows that Shen Lanxi had already made many concessions before they arrived.
"Grand Tutor, Lord Liu, Lord Wu..." Shen Lanxi greeted the three regents in turn as they arrived.
Mei Nanhua asked angrily, "What's the situation in the palace right now?"
Shen Lanxi: "It has been confirmed that the Sixteenth Prince rebelled. His men have taken His Majesty hostage and are using the concubines, princes and princesses as bargaining chips. If we don't agree to their conditions, they will throw one person down with each imperial examination!"
Mei Nanhua frowned and shouted angrily at the city wall: "Traitors and rebels deserve to be killed by everyone. If you do not want to become a sinner of the Great Zhou and leave a bad name for all eternity, open the city gates immediately and we will forgive your past mistakes!"
The people on the city wall moved, but instead of opening the city gate, they threw a concubine off the wall.
When the concubines were thrown down, Shen Lanxi immediately ordered the soldiers to catch them. As soon as she spoke, the archers on the city wall began to shoot arrows.
The concubine fell to the ground and died instantly; her protruding belly pierced the eyes of everyone present.
"You beasts! You're all beasts! You don't even spare pregnant women! Don't you have wives and children?" Mei Nanhua shouted angrily.
In response to Mei Nanhua, yet another princess was thrown down and died.
Liu Mingxin quickly dissuaded them: "We can't provoke them any further. They're already at their wits' end and have lost their minds."
Wu Yanzhi looked angry and heartbroken: "Are we just going to let them threaten us and offer our necks to their blades?"
Once they are at the mercy of others, they can only wait to be slaughtered.
"Lord Shen, what exactly are their conditions?" The three regents finally realized the truth and began to seriously consider how to deal with the situation.
Shen Lanxi stared coldly at the city wall: "The sixteenth prince has declared himself emperor and ordered us to kill the Prince of Zhennan!"
Mei Nanhua immediately burst into curses: "They can forget about it!"
Wu Yanzhi quickly advised, "Grand Tutor, please keep your voice down."
Mei Nanhua was furious, but dared not roar anymore.
If another person were thrown down from the city wall, none of them could afford to take that responsibility.
"Lord Shen, do you have any good ideas?" Wu Yanzhi asked Shen Lanxi.
Liu Mingxin was also flustered. When he heard Wu Yanzhi ask this question, he subconsciously looked at Shen Lanxi.
"The Prince of Zhennan must not be killed!" This was the primary principle, and all three regents agreed.
Shen Lanxi: "Secondly, we must rescue His Majesty, Consort Shu, and everyone in the palace—save as many as we can!"
The three regents nodded.
"That's natural."
Shen Lanxi: "The Imperial Seal is in the palace. The Sixteenth Prince wants to use the imperial edict to declare himself emperor. If we disobey, it will be treason!"
The three regents froze, and Wu Yanzhi immediately retorted in a low voice: "With the imperial seal in hand, he can write the imperial edict however he wants. He is the one who is causing chaos and becoming a traitor."
This "he" naturally refers to the sixteenth prince.
Shen Lanxi frowned and analyzed, "If we don't agree, he will continue to kill."
We can't exactly ask the sixteenth prince to kill everyone in the palace, can we?
This problem is simply unsolvable.
Mei Nanhua said with a gloomy face, "Traitors and rebels, even if they ascend to high positions, will not have a legitimate cause. Sooner or later they will be overthrown."
Shen Lanxi said in a low voice, "What I mean is to pretend to agree and coax him to stop killing people."
Wu Yanzhi glared: "Kill the Prince of Zhennan?"
Shen Lanxi explained in detail: "The Prince of Zhennan is currently quelling the rebellion in Jiangling. Even if we wanted to kill him, it would take time."
Mei Nanhua's eyes lit up: "Drag it out?"
Shen Lanxi nodded gently: "It's impossible for everyone in the palace to be their people. Even if they obey the Sixteenth Prince's orders for a while, they will become uneasy and afraid in the long run."
Liu Mingxin stared intently at Shen Lanxi for a moment before speaking, "You've been planning to submit to them for a long time, haven't you?"
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